BREAKING FILM NEWS

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

"American Gods": Myths and Monsters

According to TorontoFilm.Net, the new Freemantle/Starz TV series adaptation of writer Neil Gaiman's Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel,"American Gods", "blending Americana, fantasy and strands of ancient mythology" will start shooting in Toronto March 14, 2016 to September 2016, executive produced by Gaiman, Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, for director David Slade:

Central premise of "American Gods" is that mythological creatures exist because people believe in them, with immigrants to the US bringing with them 'dwarves', 'elves', 'leprechauns' and other spirits.

"...'Shadow' is an ex-con who leaves prison to find his wife and best friend died in a car accident, leaving him alone in the world. He takes a job as a bodyguard for a mysterious man called 'Mr. Wednesday', who seems to know more about Shadow's life than he lets on.

"Shadow and Wednesday travel across America visiting Wednesday's unusual colleagues and acquaintances until Shadow learns that Wednesday is in fact an incarnation of 'Odin the All-Father', who in his current guise is recruiting American manifestations of the 'Old Gods' of ancient mythology, whose powers have waned as their believers have decreased in number, to participate in an epic battle against the 'New American Gods', manifestations of modern life and technology including the Internet, media and modern means of transport.

"Shadow meets many gods and magical creatures along the way including 'Mr. Nancy' (a manifestation of the spider god/trickster figure 'Anansi'), 'Czernobog' and a leprechaun named 'Mad Sweeney', who gives Shadow the gift of a magical gold coin. Shadow tosses the coin into his wife's grave, inadvertently bring her back from the dead as a semi-living 'revenant'.